X     x     trap



' I 1645095 Oct. 11 1927. s. C. ENZENAUER I vl TRAP Filed Janes. 1925zsheeiz-seez 1 'Elephe/LEE' Hauer m13 n ,A

s.c.ENzENAUER TRAP Filed Jan,26, 1925 y 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 nve--nfozPawnee oei. ii, isa?.

,Unirse sr misses seins 1 STEPHEN o. ENZENAUER, or' Bniionorr, rnesto,essie-Non or' onnfrriinnro JOHN F. f

' BRADY, or renoncer, inane.

meer.

Application ledv'annery 2G, 1925. Serial No. 4,855,

' The device forming the subject mattei' af thisapplication is ajaiv't-rap, and the invent-ion aims to provide novel means whereby t-hetrigger may be engaged directly with the spring, to hold the trapsetWithout resorting to an intermediate dog as a spring` retainingmeans. Another object oi the iii vention Ais so to construct the trapthat the spring may be latched in set position, the jaws being swungopen after the spring has been latched, the result being that the chancethat the lingers of the operator will be engaged bythe jaws, lwillbereduced to the minimum. l f f It. is Withinthe province of thedisclosure to vimprove generally and to enhancel the utility of devices.of that'sort to'ivhich the invention appertains.

Although a preferredy form ot the invention has been shown, it` will beunderstood that a inechanic` Working within the scope ofwhatxisclaimed', may makel siich alterationsk as his skill may suggest, Withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

In the` accompanying drawings f Figure 1 shows in top plan, a trap constructed in accordance with ythe'invention,y

the jaivsbeing set; Figure 2 is a side elevay tion; Figure 3 isalongitudinal section; and Figure e is a' ysection on the line 1#4ot'Figure 3. f

Iny carrying ont the invention, there is provided a framey 1,. includinga base strip 2, one end of which is formed into an up? standing bearingThe` opposite end of the base strip 2 is. curved into an` eyed,

Wherevvith a chain 5 or. other anchoring means may be assembled, the.eye being pro longed to form an-arin 6 located on top 'of the basestripk 2 at one 'endthereoh the arm terminating in yan upstandingbearing T coinplemental to the bearing 3. That portion of the base strip2 which lies beneath the arm 6 is distorted to form a transverse seatThe arm 6 and the underlying portion et fthe base strip 2, as Well asthe bearing 7, are supplied with a slot 9 which entendsk across the seat8. A curved cross piece 10 is at ta'ched intermediate its-endsby alsecuring elementll to the base strip 2, the member v10 being disposedtransversely of the base strip, as Figure 1' will disclose clearly.There are openings 12in the endsof the cross piece 10 whereby the trapmay be `piece 23, the bearing` 'through the opening spiked down to a`log,.or secured otherwise tok any accessible object.v f Y .The trapcomprises a trigger'ld including a tread plate/15 and an arm 16 securedto the `under surface ofthe tread plate, the arm terminating at its rearend in a detent y1'?. The arm extends through the slot 91 A securingmember 18, Whiclrmay be a "Us shaped rivet, is locatedin the seat 8, the

upstanding arms 19 of the rivet being` beaten down on the element 6,'therivet 18 forming a pivotal mounting `for the'fp'art 16 of the .trigger14, as shown inlfiigure 2,.

The spring oit the trap comprises a. main member 20 disposedcrosswiseoiithe basel strip 2 and connected, thereto'by` a securing element 21.`The spring embodiesv a head! 22"'- liarinn' an upwardly inclined finger.piecev 23,` 'the head being` connected` to the'main" meinber 2O by sidestrips-24; joinedto the main member 2O by curved po'rti`ons'25. 1nv theinner edge' of th`e`liead`j22 there is a f notch or opening` 26. For thesa-lre of brev#y ity in claiming ythe invention, the spring memberconnected (at 21) to the frame 1.;

Arcuate jaws 27 are supplied; thejaivs havingl outstandingI trunnions 28mounted to i 28 being equippedWithoutstanding tins 31? cooperating withthe bearings Z and 3.

1nr rpractical operation, the 4 pressedA down into approximateparallelism with .the base` stri-p 2, by'ivayf-of the finger y t 26.`The trigger`14 is' raised at its tree end until-the detent v17 enf gagestheliead 22 `of tliefspring at the base outer surfacesy of' the 'springvis 1 '7. projecting upwardly ot `the notch or openings 26 inthelsprin'gf rEhe iaivs 27 then are swung into airopen position, toovei'luing;A the spring, as shown in Figure 1.f The trap now is set, andit kis to be observed that the spring maybe compressedand beheld by thetrigger ,14, before the javfs` are opened from the dotted danger olfinjuring the operator being rerduced accordingly. When an animaltreadsyline position ot Figure 4 to the vsolid liney on the trigger 14, thetrigger swings downwardly on its pivotal mounting 18, the detent A17 isdisengaged from the head 22 of the spring, and as the head of the springmoves upwardly, the spring cooperates with the jaws 27, along the edgesot' the opening 26, to close the jaws and to hold them closed.

Summarizing the advantages, features ot' operation and points ofconstruction, it is to be observed that since the detent 17 of thetrigger 14 engages directly with the head 22 of the spring, the trapdispenses with the dog which usually is interposed between the triggerand the spring in a trap. It is to be observed that the tins el of thejaws 27 are out of alinement with the slots 30 in the bearings 3 and 7at all times saving when the jaws are closed together as shown in.dotted line in Figure 4:. Although the trunnions 28 may be mounted inthe bearings 3 and 7, during the manufacture of the trap, by insertingthe fins 3l through the slots 30, the slots and the fins do not registerwhen the jaws are separated enough to grip the 'leg of an animal. Thetins 3l, therefore, reinforce the mounting of the jaws on the ktrame ofthe trap and prevent an unusually strong or large animal from yanlingthe trunnions 2SV of the jaws out ot the openings 29 wherein thetrunnions are mounted.

The device to which this application relates, is intended to provide a.trap wherein there is no dog to throw the animals foot out of the trapwhen the trap is sprung. This feature should be thoroughly understood.If, by way of experiment, the thumb of an operator is placed partly onthe pan and partly on the dog of an old-style trap, the dog will throwthe thumb out of the trap when the trap is sprung. happens when ananimal treads on both dog and pan. A grown muslirats front foot is aboutone inch long and its hind foot is about three inches long. A musliratis seldom caught by its hind foot because it steps on both dog and panwith its hind foot perhaps in 8O out of 100 instances.

It isv one purpose of this specification to make pla-in and manifest thefact that the cross piece 10 extends beyond both sides ot the trap. Thisis done in order to make the trap stand firmly and flat-footed. In theOld-style article ot the class described, the cross piece extends onlyhalf-way across The same thing the trap, leaving the loose jaw half aninch above ground, with no under support to prop it. When an animalsteps on the loose jaw, the old-style trap tips, and the consequentjolting causes the pan to drop, putting the trap out of commission untilit is re-set.

That is claimed is l. A trap comprising a frame including bearings heving' openings and provided wit-h reduced slots communicating with theopenings, jaws having trunnions mounted to rock in the openings, thetrunnions being supplied with outstandingtins insertible through theslots, the slots and the fins being so located with respect to eachother that the fins move out of alinement with the slots as soon as thejaws are started from a closed posit-ion to an open position, springmeans for closing` the jaws, and trigger mechanism for holding the trapset.

2. A trap comprising a frame, arcuate jaws pivoted to the frame, aspring including` a main member disposed transversely of the frame andsecured intermediate its ends to the iframe, a head locatedapproximately parallel to the main member. arms connected to the ends ofthe head, and downwardly curved portions joining the ends of thev armsto the ends ot the main member, the head ot the spring cooperating withthe jaws to close the jaws, a trigger pivotally mounted on the frame andcomprising a part extended outwardly beyond the jaws and engageddirectly with the head ot' the spring at a point external to the jaws torestrain the spring, when the trap is set, and a cross piece securedintermediate its ends to the iframe in spaced relation to the mainmember of the spring and at a point adjacent to the place or' engagementbetween said part of the trigger and the head of the spring, the crosspi-ece and the main member of the spring forming a supporting base forthe trap, said curved portions serving to hold the head and the arms ofthe spring in paralle'l relation to the plane deiined by the cross pieceand the main member of the spring, when the trigger is engaged with thehead of the spring. i

In testimony that I claim the 'foregoing as my own, l have heretoaliixed my signature.

STEPHEN nnznnnunn.

